Pep Guardiola is often accused of not having a Plan B when things go wrong for Manchester City .
The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach is seen by some as being wedded to tiki taka, something comments such as "What is tackles?" have helped to solidify.
But Arsenal coach Unai Emery has noticed something different about the way Guardiola has tackled English football. The two first came across each other in La Liga and Emery is nearing the end of his first season in English football with Chelsea standing in his way of Champions League qualification and a fourth Europa League title.
As much as City's attack have blown teams away over the past two seasons, Arsenal's manager has been impressed with the attitude paid to defence in order to meet the demands of the Premier League.
"Pep has made a mix," he told El Mundo . "He has sacred principles, which are not touched, but these are only 50 per cent.
"The other 50 per cent is made up of the situation and the variables. City have scored goals with long kicks from the goalkeeper, something unthinkable in his club, and his counter is dizzying.
"One of the things that he said as soon as he arrived was that he had to be strong in both areas and for that you have to be physical. Look at many of his big signings: [John] Stones, [Kyle] Walker, [Benjamin] Mendy, [Aymeric] Laporte...What are they? Defenders."
